Sweet and Sour Vietnamese Chicken Wings

How to make Sweet and Sour Vietnamese Chicken Wings Recipe - There is a famous Vietnamese dipping sauce, nuoc cham, that is used throughout the country to flavor everything from spring rolls to grilled meats and seafood. It’s sort of the Vietnamese equivalent of our ketchup, though far more complex-tasting. The dipping sauce ingredients form the foundation for this chicken wing marinade. A word of caution: be sure to buy Vietnamese or Thai fish sauce. Fish sauces manufactured in other Asian countries have a much higher salt content and a stronger taste that will unbalance the flavors in this recipe.

Serves 4 as an entrée or 6 to 12 as an appetizer

Ingredients:
24 chicken wings
½ cup freshly squeezed lime juice
½ cup firmly packed brown sugar
½ cup Vietnamese or Thai fish sauce
½ cup mango, guava, or papaya nectar
2 tablespoons Asian chile sauce
4 cloves garlic, minced
⅓ cup chopped cilantro sprigs
¼ cup minced ginger
¼ cup minced lemongrass, stem only
¼ cup minced roasted, unsalted peanuts
4 cups shredded iceberg lettuce

Method:
Cut off the wing tips and save them for making stock. In a bowl large enough to hold the wings, combine the lime juice, brown sugar, fish sauce, mango nectar, chile sauce, garlic, cilantro, ginger, lemongrass, and peanuts.

Add the wings, and mix thoroughly. Marinate the wings in the refrigerator for 1 to 24 hours (the longer, the better).

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line a shallow baking pan with foil. Coat a wire rack with nonstick cooking spray and place the rack in the baking pan. Drain the chicken and reserve the marinade.

Arrange the wings on the rack (smooth surface down) and roast for 30 minutes. Drain the accumulated liquid from the pan. Baste the wings with the reserved marinade, turn them over, and baste again.

Roast until the wings turn a mahogany color, about another 30 minutes. Cut the wings in half through the joint. Place a layer of lettuce on a platter. Add the wings on top of the lettuce. Serve.